The need for heated fluids, and in particular heated water, has long been recognized. Conventionally, water has been heated by heating elements, either electrically or with gas burners, while stored in a tank or reservoir. While effective, energy efficiency and water conservation using a storage tank alone can be poor. As an example, water that is stored in a hot water storage tank is maintained at a desired temperature at all times. Thus, unless the storage tank is well insulated, heat loss through radiation can occur, requiring additional input of energy to maintain the desired temperature. In effect, continual heating of the stored water in the storage tank is required. Additionally, the storage tank is often positioned at a distance from the point of use, such as the hot water outlet. In order to obtain a desired temperature, cooled water in the pipes connecting the point of use (outlet) and the hot water storage tank must be purged before the hot water from the storage tank reaches the outlet. This can often amount to a substantial volume of water being wasted.
Many of these problems have been overcome by the use of tankless water heaters. With the tankless water heater, incoming ground water passes through a component generally known as a heat exchanger and is instantaneously heated by heating elements (or gas burner) within the heat exchanger until the temperature of the water leaving the heat exchanger matches a desired temperature set by a user of the system. With such systems the heat exchanger is typically heated by a large current flow (or Gas/BTU input) which is regulated by an electronic control system. The electronic control system also typically includes a temperature selection device, such as a thermostat, by which the user of the system can select the desired temperature of the water being output from the heat exchanger.
Controllers are available on the market to activate a pump based on a change in temperature in the storage tank. The problem with current market controllers is that the set temperature would need to be set at the controller and at the tankless water heater. This presents the possibility for the user to set the system incorrectly or outside of a manufacturer's recommendation for the system. For example, the user could set the tankless to 120° F. and the controller to 140° F. In this case the pump would run continuously because the 120° F. exiting the tankless would never satisfy the controller set temperature of 140° F.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the inadequacies of the prior art methods and devices and which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the water heater art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for tank recovery comprising: a tankless having an outlet; a storage tank operatively connected to said tankless; a pump operatively connected to said tankless, said pump operatively connected to said storage tank; a first thermistor in thermal communication with said outlet of said tankless, said first thermistor measures a first temperature of said outlet of said tankless when said pump is active; a second thermistor in thermal communication with said storage tank, said second thermistor measures a second temperature of said storage tank; and a controller having a stored default temperature for said tankless, said controller receives the measured second temperature from said second thermistor, said controller compares the stored default temperature for said tankless to the measured second temperature from said second thermistor, said controller sends a first signal to activate said pump when the difference between the stored temperature and the measured second temperature is greater than a first set temperature.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for tank recovery comprising: providing a tankless having an outlet; providing a storage tank operatively connected to said tankless; providing a pump operatively connected to said tankless, said pump operatively connected to said storage tank; providing a first thermistor in thermal communication with said outlet of said tankless, said thermistor measuring a first temperature; providing a second thermistor in thermal communication with said storage tank, said second thermistor measuring a second temperature; providing a controller operatively connected to said first thermistor, said controller operatively connected to said second thermistor, and said controller operatively connected to said pump; storing a default first temperature in said controller; monitoring the second temperature received by said controller from said second thermistor; comparing the second temperature to the default first temperature by said controller; sending a first signal from said controller to said pump when a first set point is reached based on the comparison of the second temperature to the default first temperature by said controller, the first signal activating said pump; monitoring the first temperature received by said controller from said first thermistor, the monitoring of the first temperature occurring while said pump is activated; comparing the second temperature to the first temperature by said controller; sending a second signal from said controller to said pump when a second set point is reached based on the comparison of the second temperature to the first temperature by said controller, the second signal deactivating said pump; discontinuing the monitoring of the first temperature by said controller when said pump is deactivated; and storing an updated first temperature in said controller when said pump is deactivated by the second signal.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.